Response to Criminal Violations in the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
On November 28, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it was temporarily suspending BP from all new contracts with the U.S. government. EPA acted two weeks after BP agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal counts, including manslaughter, obstruction of Congress and other criminal charges stemming from the 2012 Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill. BP also agreed to pay $4.5 billion in penalties. Federal agencies have authority to issue temporary suspensions and longer-term “debarments” to parties that violate criminal laws (over three thousand were issued in the last fiscal year). EPA is the lead agency doing so for violations of national water and air laws. The effects on BP could be significant: BP is currently the largest lease-holder in deep water portions of the Gulf of Mexico, and in 2011 was the largest supplier of fuels to the U.S. military. Its existing contracts are not affected, but it is ineligible for new ones (for example, the company has already had to skip a round of deep water leasing by the Department of the Interior).
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International,
Health & Safety,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EPA,
Hazcom
The presence of “hazardous” materials in your workplace can trigger a wide variety of environmental health and safety requirements and hazardous waste regulations. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and state worker protection agencies issue standards to protect workers during occupational handling and storage. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental agencies issue requirements governing the management of hazardous wastes, and emissions to a variety of environmental media (air, water and land).
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Employer Best Practices,
Health & Safety,
OSHA,
Employee Rights,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EPA,
Hazcom
This month the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published new environmental compliance rules (Rule 13q-1 and associated Form SD), requiring annual disclosures by publicly listed “resource extraction issuers” of payments they make to the U.S. federal government, or foreign governments, related to commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. SEC’s rules implement a Congressional mandate contained in 2010’s massive Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).
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SEC,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EPA
Environmental compliance can be a complex business. In fact, in certain situations, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other legislation, may actually deter use of innovative waste management technologies and best practices. Here are three questions to ask about your organization:
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OSHA,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EPA,
fracking
On July 6, 2012, President Obama signed into law the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)”.The 584-page legislation revises and adds many sections to the U.S. Code, intending to “create a streamlined, performance-based, and multi-modal program to address the many challenges faced by the US transportation system, including improving safety, maintaining infrastructure condition, reducing traffic congestion, improving efficiency of the system and freight movement, and protecting the environment” (USDOT, Federal Highway Administration).
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Health & Safety,
OSHA,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EHS,
EPA,
Hazcom,
EEOC
If your business generates "hazardous" wastes, then you must manage them in compliance with applicable federal and state environmental laws and regulations. But did you know that the same regulations also require you to take steps to avoid generating such wastes in the first place? Regulations refer to these as "waste minimization" efforts.
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California Legislation,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EHS,
EPA,
Hazcom,
effluent,
EEOC
Energy companies have used hydraulic fracturing—often referred to as ‘fracking’—since the 1940s in order to enhance recovery of oil and natural gas from low-permeability (“tight”) rock formations.
Frackers pump high-pressure fluids into rock formations to create and expand cracks and create pathways for valuable hydrocarbons to flow out. The stimulant fluids are usually water-based, with additional chemicals (acids, surfactants, biocides, etc.) to improve the effectiveness of the fracking process as well as solid ‘proppants’, which prop open the expanded openings (sand, etc.).
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Health & Safety,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EPA,
fracking,
hydraulic fracking
Increasingly, your approach to climate change issues provides an important basis for your customers’ and other stakeholders’ purchasing and investment decisions with your organization. They may research how your organization manages its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (your ‘carbon footprint’) because, if you provide them with goods and services, the GHG emissions associated with your activities may be attributed to them.
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Corporate Governance,
Environmental risks,
Environmental,
EPA
On June 26, the federal District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals issued a major decision, upholding four rulings by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). All four rulings expand the regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The case is Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA.1
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Health & Safety,
California Legislation,
Environmental,
EPA
Although federal and California regulations have introduced numeric effluent limits (NELs) for stormwater discharges, technical issues and an adverse regulatory environment have stalled these efforts. Here is a summary of stormwater regulatory history, and the current regulatory atmosphere.
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Environmental,
EPA,
effluent,
Stormwater,
STC
